A Chief Minister, whether elected or appointed, assumes the role of the head of government for a sub-national entity, typically an administrative subdivision or federal constituent entity. This title is applied to various regions globally, including states in India, territories in Australia, provinces in Sri Lanka or Pakistan, federal provinces in Nepal, autonomous regions in the Philippines, and certain British Overseas Territories with self-governance. The term is also used in Crown Dependencies such as the Isle of Man (since 1986), Guernsey (since 2004), and Jersey (since 2005).
In 2018, Sierra Leone, a presidential republic, introduced the position of an appointed Chief Minister, resembling the role of a prime minister in a semi-presidential system. Prior to this, Milton Margai held a similar position from 1954 to 1958.
While akin to a first minister or minister-president, the role of a Chief Minister generally holds a lower rank. In the Westminster system, the Chief Minister acts as the chief adviser to the nominal head of their state, presides over the cabinet, and leads the main governing political party in the legislature. They are commonly considered “first among equals”.
In the Republic of India, Chief Ministers head the government in each of the twenty-eight states and three of the eight union territories. According to the Constitution of India, the governor is the de jure head at the state level, but de facto executive authority rests with the Chief Minister.
As of February 2024, the office of the Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir remains vacant since the revocation of Article 370, with no new elections held. Among the thirty incumbents, only one is a woman, Mamata Banerjee in West Bengal, serving since March 5, 2000, marking a tenure of 23 years and 350 days. Odisha’s Naveen Patnaik boasts the longest incumbency.
Pinarayi Vijayan of Kerala, at 78, holds the title of the oldest Chief Minister, while Pema Khandu of Arunachal Pradesh, aged 44, is the youngest. Bihar’s Nitish Kumar has served the most terms (9). Presently, twelve incumbents belong to the Bharatiya Janata Party, three to the Indian National Congress, and two to the Aam Aadmi Party.
In a recent survey gauging the acceptability of leaders and assessing the popularity and approval of Chief Ministers, Odisha’s Naveen Patnaik topped the list with a 52.7% rating. Uttar Pradesh’s Yogi Adityanath secured the second position with a 51.3% rating, and Assam’s Himanta Biswas Sarma ranked third with a 48.6% rating. Gujarat’s Bhupendra Patel and Tripura’s Manik Saha claimed the fourth and fifth positions, with popularity ratings of 42.6% and 41.4%, respectively.
Naveen Patnaik, a founding member of the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) party, has served as Chief Minister for a remarkable 22 years. Under his leadership, Odisha has transformed from a backward state into a thriving development laboratory, achieving notable progress in human development indices. His contributions also extended to revitalizing Indian hockey, leading to a bronze medal at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. The Indian girls also took India on the world hockey stage by finishing heart-breaking fourth in a well-contested game at Tokyo Olympics.
Yogi Adityanath, the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, has served as the longest-serving Chief Minister (22nd) and won consecutive polls in 2022. His leadership has been credited with transforming Uttar Pradesh into a leading state in terms of ease of doing business, with a significant economic turnaround.
Kudos to Yogi Adityanath prior to 2017, UP Government had become a problem instead of a solution while a sense of discontent prevailed among citizens in the country against the system before 2014.
The CM said Uttar Pradesh stood as one of the leading states in the country now in terms of ease of doing business. Notably, the state’s economy, which was once ranked eighth or tenth, was now in the race to become number one or two. “This transformation represents the emergence of a new Uttar Pradesh of new India,” he pointed out.
During his tenure, UP has promoted sports in a big way by establishing nearly a dozen sports colleges across the state, equipped with the most modern infrastructure and facilities. In just six and a half years, UP garnered investment proposals worth ₹38 lakh crore through the Global Investors’ Summit held early this year, which was expected to create job opportunities for 1.10 crore youth across the State. Manik Saha, a dentist-turned-politician, led the BJP to power in Tripura in March 2023, serving as Chief Minister for the second consecutive term. Residents praised Saha for his simplicity, dedication, honesty, and developmental strides in the State.
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